Outboard motors are conventionally mounted for pivoting about a motor mounting bracket which bracket, in turn, is fixed to the center of the boat transom and aligned with the boat keel and which bracket is normally vertical or near vertical. This permits the outboard motor to be oriented in vertically upright position during operation of the boat. Outboard motors are relatively heavy and being supported on the transom of the hull, subject the transom and thus the boat hull to extreme stress while transported by a trailer.
Additionally, the outboard motor lower drive unit is designed to underlie the boat keel and to be positioned to the rear of the transom for propelling the boat. This places the outboard motor lower unit in a dangerous position during trailer transport. To alleviate this problem, both in lightweight outboard motors and in the heavier units, to which the present invention has application, conventionally the outboard motor is tilted from a near vertically upright position parallel to the plane of the hull transom, to a position where the motor is at an acute angle, with the motor mounting bracket element fixed to the transom, thus raising the outboard motor lower unit to a position generally above the keel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,236, issued Nov. 14, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,431, issued May 2, 1982, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,561, issued Feb. 26, 1985, are representative of devices which are integrated to the outboard motor and its mount to the transom of the boat, or detachably inserted between the mounting bracket and the outboard motor drive unit for maintaining the outboard motor drive unit tilted at a rearwardly and downwardly oblique position with respect to the transom and with the propeller unit raised relative to the surface of the ground upon which the boat trailer rides.
In tilting of the outboard motor drive unit forwardly, in order to raise the propeller assembly, due to the pivotable cam lever support of the outboard motor to the transom via the motor mounting bracket, the outboard motor subjects the boat transom to a constant torque or twisting force which over a period of time weakens or damages the transom, even where the motor is fairly well balanced on the transom. Further, vibrations due to haulage over rough roads causes the transom to receive undue twisting forces resulting in fatigue and possible failure of the transom.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an outboard engine support member of unitary, molded plastic block form, having high resiliency integrally mounted to the trim cylinder rods of outboard motors equipped with power tilt and trim apparatus capable of supporting the weight of the outboard motor power unit, which absorbs shock to the outboard motor during transport over rough terrain which is lightweight, and of relatively small size.